Unveiling the Eliza Effect in AI Education Tools

For many of us, using AI for the first time can feel like magic. I know I felt that way the first time I used ChatGPT a month after it was released in 2023. I was so excited by the technology and my experience engaging with artificial intelligence that I started this podcast and a learning journey. Just like a talented magician engaging in a really compelling magic trick, however, not everything is as it appears. I kept thinking about this during my conversation with Tom Mullaney. Tom is an experienced educator who’s held multiple teaching and education roles during his career. He’s recently settled in as an consultant around educational technology and publishes thoughtful media on his website. I was interested in having a conversation with Tom based on a blog post he wrote where he talked about one of the most popular AI use cases which he headlines as ‘talking to the dead’. What I mean by this is educators, schools, and organizations who have trained AI chatbots to speak in the voices of folks who may have passed, such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Napoleon, or other notable figures. I appreciated Tom bringing the heat during our conversation and cautioning folks involved in education to stop racing to adopt AI and ensure we are considering the ethics, drawbacks, and implications of AI adoption in schools. All show notes and conversation takeaways available at TheAIEducationConversation.com